Grimsby Half Marathon and Family Day 10 k & 3K

Race: Grimsby Half Marathon and Family Day 10 k & 3KDistance: 10 kmDate: Monday, February 16, 2015Pre-Race Preparation: Bring pre-race food for the drive to Grimsby. Make sure I am extremely warm!!Pre-Race Thoughts: How is my body going to feel racing while I am sick with the stomach flu? What pace should I aim for?Lap Length: 10000mRunning Surface: ConcreteIncline / Decline: Incline and declineStart Time: 9:00 amFinish Time: 9:38:16 amWeather: -29 C, cloudy with 15mph windPre-Race Routine: Carb-loading Wednesday – Saturday, I was sick going into this race so it was hard to eat lots of pasta. I just kept my body hydrated as much as I can.Shoes: Pearl Izumi peak IISocks: Mizuno breathe thermo crewFluids taken during the race: ¼ cup of water, was icy from the cold temperature.Energy / Calories consumed Prior to the race: Oatmeal, chia seeds, hemp seeds, banana.Energy / Calories consumed During the race: noneSodium / Electrolytes consumed During the race: noneGeneral Observations: It was a very well organized race. The staff and volunteers were all very friendly and helpful. My half marathon was cancelled the day off and they already had signs advising runners what the options were. The route had a few hills which isn’t too bad overall for a 10km.
The school had lots of space for everyone to stay inside until the race started. The swag was a long sleeve tech shirt and a box of pure protein bars. There were bananas, apples, coffee (Tim Horton’s), pop, water and pizza from Boston pizza for post race. I couldn’t eat the pizza. It was a bit too greasy for me. I had a Canada dry to soothe my stomach though. =)Things that worked for this event: I covered myself from head to toe making sure I was super warm. I wore 2 pairs of tights, thermo socks, double gloves, fully covered head gear and sunglasses. =) No skin was exposed to the cold.Things that didn’t work well for this event: nonePsychological Observations: I was expecting to do a half marathon and ended up doing a 10km. It was hard to switch my mindset to run faster. I did what I can and treated this race as speed training. I was fortunate enough to found another racer who had a great pace. He picked up his pace even more during the last 3km and I followed till I was sure we had about 500m left.Post-Race Recovery: I took a few days off ran running again. My stomach flu was still in my system.